Specifications

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VMware GSX Server Virtual Machine Guide
Choosing a Device Node for the DVD-ROM or CD-ROM Drive
Like a virtual disk, the virtual machine’s DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive can be associated
with a specific SCSI or IDE device node.
The type of device does not have to match the type of device on the host, so if your
GSX Server host has an IDE CD-ROM drive, you can still configure your virtual machine
with a SCSI CD-ROM drive.
If you want to do more than read data from the drive — for example, burn CD-ROMs
— you should match the bus types. So if your host has an IDE CD-ROM drive,
configure the virtual CD-ROM drive on an IDE device node.
However, if you want to boot from a virtual CD-ROM drive, you must configure the
drive as an IDE device.
Using Legacy Emulation for DVD-ROM and CD-ROM Drives
The virtual machine settings editor provides a Legacy emulation option for DVD-ROM
and CD-ROM drives attached to the virtual machine.
On Windows hosts, this option is deselected by default.
On Linux hosts with IDE drives, the default setting for this option depends on whether
the ide-scsi module is loaded in your kernel. The ide-scsi module must be
loaded — or you must be using a physical SCSI drive — if you want to connect to the
DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive in raw mode.
If you encounter problems using your DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive, try selecting
Legacy emulation.
Note that in legacy emulation mode, you can read from data discs in the DVD-ROM or
CD-ROM drive, but some other functions are not available. For example, you cannot
read from multisession discs if your DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive is configured for
legacy mode. You cannot burn CD-ROMs either.
When Legacy emulation is deselected, the guest operating system communicates
directly with the drive. This direct communication enables capabilities that are not
possible in legacy emulation mode, such as using CD and DVD writers to burn discs,
reading multisession CDs, performing digital audio extraction and viewing video.
However, in some cases, the DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive may not work correctly
when the guest operating system is communicating directly with the drive. In
addition, certain drives and their drivers do not work correctly in raw mode. Selecting
Legacy emulation is a way to work around these problems.